For most of the US this cold blast will be the last and it will be time to start getting our hands dirty. I have a 12 acre farm that fully supports my family and leaves plenty left over for storage and the future. While I'm biased a bit, I think it's time to bring back victory gardens.
Get out there, dig in the dirt, and plant some seeds.
Feel free to ask advice here!
so many questions! I have the land and the desire but so far lack the green thumb.
what's the best way to prep and maintain soil for nutrients?
can human compost be used? at first thought one winces at this but I think to myself how my family eats organic foods and take no pharmaceutical meds or anything that would otherwise be offensive. horse manure is praised and very regularly used after all. if so, any thoughts on best additives that are healthy and organic for composting process?
living in the northeast (suburb of Boston), what plants should I buy seedlings of to get started indoors?
best way to start indoors (e.g., hydroponics, fluorescent lighting, hot room, natural sunlight)?
best material for laying over an outdoor garden to mitigate weeds while also preventing harmful chemicals from seeping/leaching into soil and plant roots?
best places to buy seeds from?
sorry for barrage of questions. be happy with responses to even a couple of these to get me started in the right direction and hopefully impart knowledge on the overall GAW community.
thank you!
I can help with the best places to buy seeds from, although you may find some good places locally as well. Online, I like MI Gardener, Seeds Now as well as Burpee.
I imagine it's near impossible to know how organic and unadulterated any seeds are because we'd need to know the history of the fertilizer and soil and any intentional or unintentional impacts to the plant over the years, but any suggestions on best way to feel comfortable that a seed has good genetics? for example, seedless watermelon I wouldn't trust, but are there other less obvious modifications that happen to tomatoes, onions, lettuce, etc to warn a conscientious grower and end user?
Heirloom seed places are quite dedicated.
Sorry, just got to this comment. You can buy organic seeds, and both MI Gardener and Seeds now also have some choices that they call heirloom seeds. You can look out for either of those options.
I try all different ways of gardening. Cloth pots, raised beds, in Ground with woven black plastic with burned holes. Open ground. I like the chaos of a cottage or pottager garden so I mix it up. I start the seeds indoors (2nd year) and mix the ones I can with flowers and I have perennial fruits and herbs all about. So far I’m not a fan of cloth pots for food crops and find potatoes like the ground best.
I’ve been at it for years and never get tired of learning. Preserving the harvest is now my main learning focus. I hate wasting.